Chocolate

Recently I mentioned to my daughter Bella I was going to Montreal soon for a demo, and she said with great urgency: “Mommy, whatever you do, make sure you go back to the store where we had those heavenly chocolate danishes. You just can’t go to Montreal without having one!”

We had that danish almost eight years ago. We were spending a few days in Montreal for a weekend wedding, and our hosts chartered a bus that took all of us around town. The bakery with the unforgettable danish was on top of the list of attractions. When the bus arrived in front of their stores, the baker did as he had been instructed by our hosts, and gave out a chocolate danish to each passenger. And sure enough, we were all swooning.

Which begs the question: What’s the problem? Do they know something about danishes in Montreal that we don’t know in New York? Can’t we whip up a good danish in our wonderful city with our endless resources? Is it necessary to go abroad in order to have a great danish? Now wouldn’t that be really vexing?

The answer is ridiculously simple, and I’ll share it with you at the risk of appearing sarcastic: The chocolate used was….. chocolate! Not chocolate-flavored drops! Not a sugary slab with a little chocolate in it to turn everything chocolate-black. Don’t always believe that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. Fake chocolate amply bears out the exception that confirms the rule. It is quite unfortunate that most commercial bakeries use inferior products that contain lots of sugar and only traces of chocolate (same for all the extracts: artificial lemon, orange, vanilla flavor instead of pure extracts). But what is worse, most kosher Supermarkets carry precisely the same mediocre chocolate and “extracts” as in those institutional bakeries, with the lame explanation that “this is what the people ask for”. The people? Hello, that’s us! We the People would LOVE more good, meaning real, chocolate products. And real vanilla, and real everything. I can’t ever remember any merchant offering the real thing to the public and getting turned down. Did someone say real chocolate? Bring it on down!

Please don’t fall for the old fallacy that the real thing is much more expensive than its lackluster counterpart. For example: you need a few drops of vanilla extract in a recipe that would use globs of artificial flavor, and the worst part is, it will never hold a candle to the real thing, no matter how thick you spread it! There ain’t nothin’ like the real thin’! That’s how the song goes, not for nothing.

Interestingly, around Passover, we find wonderful chocolate products. Where do they hibernate the rest of the year? I think I can explain this: The manufacturers of “heimish” (read: fake) chocolate don’t find it worth their while, thank Goodness, to take the trouble of making Passover batches, so they import Passover chocolate. But why wait until Passover to enjoy the real thing? Please note I am not mentioning any chocolate brand, there’s no need to do that: Even a price club or supermarket brand will do, just because it is chocolate, not a chocolate-like substance. Any chocolate product containing less than 50% cocoa mass is just not worth using: 50% would be sweet chocolate. Then comes semisweet, with up to 60% cocoa mass, then bittersweet, with 70% cocoa mass or even higher, then unsweetened. Many brands offer pure cocoa powder. What would we all give for a fabulous cup of ready hot chocolate? The meager pickings are mostly sugar, very little chocolate, and this is why I make hot chocolate mix for all my grandchildren: Very simple I assure you, less sugar more cocoa and you are there!

So, dear kosher supermarkets: Will you please instruct your buyers to get some good genuine chocolate products to put on your shelves, so we housewives can whip up delicious cookies, brownies, cakes, pies? The difference is like the difference between night and day! If you don’t, you oblige us to go to other stores to get the real thing: Not nearly as meaningful as patronizing our own stores, is it?

Chocolate Espresso Mousse Recipe

Ridiculously simple and incredibly delicious: I whip it up in minutes. Who would believe it has no eggs and no cream and tastes so rich? No trace of the tofu’s controversial heritage, it’s all eclipsed by the other wonderful flavors! Tofu contributes only its bulk and great texture. My daughter in law Ruthie tells me it is often the very last thing she whips up on a harried Friday just before Shabbos rolls in. This will take you about five minutes to prepare, and will knock your socks (and your guests’!) off.

And although it tastes sinfully rich, it contains no eggs and no cream. So what’s the secret? The best chocolate, that’s what: Start with real chocolate (no brand affectionately called “heimish”) brand: They contain a smidgen of chocolate and loads of sugar: Who needs it? Get a good brand, even a price club brand will do. I assure you that if enough of you customers will ask your kosher supermarket to carry some good chocolate products, they will be happy to oblige! So, use good ingredients, and taste the difference!

Instructions:

In a small saucepan, on a very low flame, place all but last ingredient, and cook, stirring, until melted. This will take about 2-3 minutes (Or microwave 2 minutes). Transfer the mixture to a food processor, with the tofu, and process one full minute, until perfectly smooth. Pour the mixture into 6 to 8 dessert glasses or cups, and refrigerate until firm, 2-3 hours.

Social Bookmarks

About the Author

With over 25 years of experience in professional cooking, recipe development, catering and teaching, celebrity chef Lévana makes the preparation of nutritious and exotic gourmet cuisine easy. Lévana has published three cookbooks Levana’s Table: Kosher Cooking for Everyone and Levana Cooks Dairy-Free! and her latest book The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen. Levana gives demo's around the county and weekly one's on the Uppper West Side. In Short Order is a book/dvd set based on her demo series. Levana can be reached at her website Levanacooks.

All supermarkets, and of course all health food stores carry it. The beautiful thing about experimenting with new products is, they are new only because you just have been told about them. But in reality, they have there for quite some time: now you know to look for them:-)